1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device description system and, more particularly, to a system and method for providing a device profile using a device identifier capable of effectively managing and using a device description of various mobile terminals in a mobile environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
A mobile terminal has diverse hardware and software characteristics, and even after the mobile terminal is rolled out as an early product, its device description may be dynamically altered due to external factors such as variations (i.e., transformations) between mobile communications providers, variations between national communications networks, the downloading of an application program, an addition of a new input/output device, and the like.
In order to provide an optimized service suitable for various mobile terminals, a system for effectively searching for and utilizing a device description is required.
However, the current device description management method, with respect to mobile terminals, simply allows for the static management of profile information, making it difficult to effectively search and utilize dynamically varying device descriptions as mentioned above.
FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating the process of the related art method for providing a device profile in a mobile environment.
With reference to FIG. 1, a mobile terminal 11 transmits a Web address (URL) (e.g., 11.exam.com.1xml) for acquiring its terminal information and a standardized device profile information file known as a UA profile by using an HTTP header known as HTTP_X_WAP_PROFILE, while requesting the providing of a particular uniform resource identifier (URI) (S1).
Then, an application server 12 is connected to a UAP server (e.g., 11.exam.com) of a manufacturer having the Web address (URL) which has been provided by the mobile terminal 11, requests an XML file corresponding to the terminal information 1xml of the mobile terminal 11, and receives the same (S2 and S3).
The application server 12 parses the received XML file to extract a UA profile (S4), analyzes the HA profile to acquire device characteristics of the mobile terminal 11 (S5), adjusts contents or an application to be provided to the mobile terminal according to the acquired device characteristics, and provides the adjusted contents or application (S6 and S7).
In this manner, in the related art method for providing a device profile, the device description is statically stored in the particular server and accessed.
Namely, the mobile terminal device description is managed in a centralized manner, or is separately managed, according to device manufacturer, independently of other mobile terminal device descriptions.
Such a method only allows for the management of an initial mobile terminal device description, forbidding multiple variations or having difficulty in maintaining consistency between transformed information items.
In addition, the current method does not allow for providing of dynamic profile information altered after an initial product is rolled out.